Veterans are not accustomed to getting new Vet benefits from Uncle Sam but late in 2017 a really great new benefit for veterans started. The benefit of shopping at the online military exchanges is no longer available only to retired veterans! As of November 2017, veterans who were last discharged from military service under honorable conditions are now eligible to shop at online military exchanges. These include ShopMyExchange.com, the Marine Corps Exchange, the Coast Guard Exchange, and the Navy Exchange Service. This new Vet benefit is available for all honorably discharged Veterans of all United States Armed Forces, including: Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard as well as the Air Force Reserve, Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Coast Guard Reserve and National Guard. All qualifying veterans, regardless of how long you spent in uniform, may now enjoy this new Vet benefit but its available online only. It does not give veterans access to any military base nor allow them to shop in-person at the exchange or commissary.
How do I use this new Vet Benefit?
It’s simple to obtain access to the new Vet benefit. Veterans must visit their favorite online exchange to create a new account. In most cases, this will redirect the veteran to a special verification system VetVerify.org where they must enter a variety of personal information that is used to verify eligibility. Veterans discharged prior to 1983 may have to also submit discharge paperwork for review because not all older records have been digitized. So far only about 200,000 veterans have taken advantage of this new benefit out of almost 13 million who qualify.
Active duty personnel benefit also!
The products purchased through the exchanges are tax free and a percentage of the revenue is used to benefit active duty Morale, Welfare and Recreation programs. The tax savings on large home products such as TVs, refrigerators, etc can offer substantial savings. Millions of Veterans still don’t even know they are eligible for this new benefit. If you know a Veteran please tell them to check out this new benefit today!
